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  #11  
Old 10-04-2010, 08:28 PM
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#44
08-31-2010, 05:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron99
Any updates or more then and now photos? Personally, I'm not super impressed with the PAR readings you showed so far. For optimal growth of SPS you want between 400 and 500 PAR. My DIY LED array achieves that in the middle level of the tank (10 inches down my 20 inch deep 75 gallon) at less then full power with the array 6 inches above the water. If I turn it all the way up and lower to 3 to 4 inches above the water I get way more. I get well over 250 PAr at the sand bed 18 or 19 inches below the water surface.

Your clam may do alright but as I understand it clams need 250 to 300 PAR (I may be wrong on that but it's the number I recall).




That's nice Ron99 but this is not a contest and what makes you think you need between 400-500 PAR to grow stony corals well? My SPS and clams say otherwise.

I'm not going to get into a PAR contest with your DIY fixture, I get excellent growth (at 50% power I might add) and my clams are growing very well. The 48" Vertex Illumina LED comes very close in PAR output to my previous fixture, ATI PowerModule with 8x54W T5's and that fixture is no slouch.

I'm guessing your DIY uses optics to achieve higher PAR values but at the cost of spread so you'll have to hang it high to get decent coverage thereby negating all that extra PAR...

-TDF

"Stoney corals appear to photosaturate between 400 and 500 PAR so having 700 or 1000 PAR is probably pointless other than for bragging rights. I doubt it will do the corals much good." -Ron99




could not have said it better myself
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  #12  
Old 10-04-2010, 09:32 PM
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What are you trying to get at? You conveniently do not post my well reasoned and informed response to the above post you quoted. Looks like you are trying to make this some form of personal attack against me instead of discussing the merits of the light itself. Go back and read my response to the above in that thread.

Putting on my Machiavellian hat I would say that as a newbie with very few posts and with your apparent blind support of this fixture that you work for Vertex? If you want to discuss the pros and cons of the technology in a civil and reasonable fashion I'm all for it but you are derailing this thread by trying to make me look bad in some way, taking posts from other threads out of context and not posting any information of substance.

I would suggest you contribute in a positive fashion or at least in a constructive debate as I am trying to do or refrain from posting please as this is not doing the OP or the board any good.
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  #13  
Old 10-05-2010, 12:11 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wanderer View Post
#44
08-31-2010, 05:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron99
Any updates or more then and now photos? Personally, I'm not super impressed with the PAR readings you showed so far. For optimal growth of SPS you want between 400 and 500 PAR. My DIY LED array achieves that in the middle level of the tank (10 inches down my 20 inch deep 75 gallon) at less then full power with the array 6 inches above the water. If I turn it all the way up and lower to 3 to 4 inches above the water I get way more. I get well over 250 PAr at the sand bed 18 or 19 inches below the water surface.

Your clam may do alright but as I understand it clams need 250 to 300 PAR (I may be wrong on that but it's the number I recall).




That's nice Ron99 but this is not a contest and what makes you think you need between 400-500 PAR to grow stony corals well? My SPS and clams say otherwise.

I'm not going to get into a PAR contest with your DIY fixture, I get excellent growth (at 50% power I might add) and my clams are growing very well. The 48" Vertex Illumina LED comes very close in PAR output to my previous fixture, ATI PowerModule with 8x54W T5's and that fixture is no slouch.

I'm guessing your DIY uses optics to achieve higher PAR values but at the cost of spread so you'll have to hang it high to get decent coverage thereby negating all that extra PAR...

-TDF

"Stoney corals appear to photosaturate between 400 and 500 PAR so having 700 or 1000 PAR is probably pointless other than for bragging rights. I doubt it will do the corals much good." -Ron99




could not have said it better myself
Hey buds have a little respect for others on this board you can't come on here and start flapping at people .
Its noce that you have a light fro, Vertex. great ,HOWEVER some one gave you an OPININ OF theirs you can't take that away. If I tell you that your light sucks well fire your input back. But If I tell you that In my opinion that your light suck and give you a example based on another project well great leave it at that .

Just remember that people are allow to think what they want. and if they think that you are an idiot Well that is them thinking out loud!!!!!!.

However im not saying that Im just thinking it. at the end of the day people will have different opinions on lights brand names. So we will always have a debate on lights and other equipment .
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  #14  
Old 10-05-2010, 12:21 AM
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Thanks Ron i have been on the fence between vertex and aqua illuminations for some time. The finish and controller and software on the vertex is mind blowing vs what comes with the aqua illumination for now. The aqua illumination says on reef central that there are a few issues with poor unsealed connectors on the light and a little sketchy on warranty. But seeing the vertex is not in the states who knows what its flaws are. It is interesting the differences in the lights optics no optics cree vs rebel diodes. I would almost be tempted to try 2 12" and compare them side by side but ...I am big on looks in a fixture and i like the vertex more but thats just looks. I have the other big ones Ati powermodule t5's Geiseman metal halides so i would like to try leds. It is some interesting pros and cons for optics vs no optics. One thing that i am worried about it the shadows that i have seen on reef central from lights with optics. An y line in that article “On shallower tanks, I’m a proponent of using straight LEDs without secondary optics,” he states. “I’ve found that achieving a sufficient amount of light for high-light corals is possible, there will be no flashlight effect, no spotting, and more uniformly colored shadows.” Being my rag tank is only 10" deep this is something that finds me leaning towards the Vertex. I want to thank you for taking the time to educate us on the different versions on leds i find it to be interesting. One this that worries me tho is the increase in technology so quick in this hobby ill buy a led and something new and better will come out.
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  #15  
Old 10-05-2010, 02:28 AM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
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Hi,

Thought I'd chime in on this one:

The Vertex Illumina was designed from the ground-up as an open platform which will offer seamless integration into the soon-to-be-released Vertex Cerebra network. This network, the heart of which will be the Cerebra, will take the fundamentals of reef/aquarium equipment (eg. pumps, lighting, dosers, etc) and connect them all into one user-friendly, ever expanding network. This is something that no other lighting unit can offer. What exactly is all this 'fluff' you might ask? Well, off the top of my head, these are some of the developments currently under way:

- Fully synchronized tidal/photo cycles, as close as you will ever get to replicating the oceanic seasons in your living room. Moon cycles that run in tandem with surge cycles and beyond.
- Real-time weather simulation, not lighting, but current too. Imagine, with the advances in dosing pump and refrigeration technology, can you imagine increasing the amount of liquid food additives during a storm surge?
- Fully customizable color channel control to parallel the seasonal spectral shifts (this will become even more powerful with the release of the auxiliary modules, including RGB/UV-Cyan, etc).

These are features are very real and innovative options for the ultimate simulations. Pending some upcoming beta testing, they should be available nearing the end of this year/beginning of 2011.

As it stands, the Illumina has undergone nearly three years of R&D. There are no cheap parts or labour put into the product. The entire assembly was designed and assembled with the "buy it once, never look back" frame of mind and I have not had a single issue with any of the hundreds of fixtures that I have sold over the past few months. Every unit, every LED pad is hand tested.

Regarding the performance - the document leaked earlier this year was part of a much larger article which contains all the PAR and spectral data. This article is awaiting final drafts and editing prior to publishing.

@ Ron99

If someone from Vertex were to post here regarding this unit, you would know it (Hi).

Personally, I cannot engage into the debate of spectral efficacy as it is not a field of research to which I have applied myself. However, I am confident that, with the spectral testing being done and the impending publishing of the article being just around the corner, the Vertex Illumina will easily stand apart from the crowd in its ability both exceed the expectations and impress with its array of exclusive features.

I will refrain from making an analogy between this and the rather obvious car market. I think we're all a little more intelligent than that. I will however state that, having seen all the offerings from every manufacturer out there, this is by far the most unique and exclusive illumination offering from any manufacturer. There is no other lighting product out there as polished or feature-rich as the Illumina and this gap will only become larger as the Cerebra and auxiliary modules are released.

@ BlueTang<3

Check out TheDogFather's thread on RC for a more users. I cannot think of a single product I have dealt with over my entire experience within this industry that has left so many people feeling as PROUD of their investment as the Illumina. A particular example stands out in my head; one of the Canadian end-users actually called my office to tell me about how many different lighting products he had used, tested/experimented with over the years and wanted to thank me because he was ‘finally done with buying lights for his fish tank’. We’re not talking hodgepodge Chinese junk either – Aquatics, Geissman, Hamilton, Sunlight Supply, ATI, this guy probably spent more on lights in the past decade than I have spent on my car. To hear this statement from someone who was in that position of knowledge and authority has left me feeling brazenly confident about the capabilities of the Illumina.

Regarding the rapid 'leap frogging' that LED manufacturers seem to be doing with each other, the Illumina will be fully upgradable. The shell/haul of the light is completely modular and, should LED technology happen to surge forward in efficiency, easily be expanded to the current offerings and beyond. I should mention that all of this can be done without any prior experience or knowledge. No soldering, disassembly or internal parts replacement. Each pad is completely modular and can be removed by hand without the need for any tools.

Anyway, I’m getting off the soapbox now and will recede back into ‘lurker’ mode. Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions regarding this or any other Vertex products.
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  #16  
Old 10-05-2010, 02:54 AM
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Is the new v stick compatible with mac? I see on glass box they are using it with a mac but a few reviews say it was not working.
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  #17  
Old 10-05-2010, 03:50 AM
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Hey guys I bought my 6' Lumina when it first came out and have had no problems. Coral growth over the past 6-8 months has really shocked me, as I was a little bit of a skeptic at first to dish out 3800.00. The customer service has been awesome and even sent me V stick to try out, and if you like to tinker this is the light for you. In my opinion its a great light and will just keep getting better. If you have any questions drop me a line, or come on over and check it out.
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  #18  
Old 10-05-2010, 04:26 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueTang<3 View Post
Is the new v stick compatible with mac? I see on glass box they are using it with a mac but a few reviews say it was not working.
Mac software is under developement. We should see its release before the end of the year.
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  #19  
Old 10-05-2010, 04:33 AM
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That is great and all but 3500 for a light to light your tank is crazy. However if my light would do that then that is great would love it , they would probably sell more units if they wold lower the price, they want all the great advertising then lower the price and then you will get more people buying to rave about it. this light is geared toward the higher rich bank accounts and well if you can buy a 3700 light then you aren't really giving to craps about your tank. or have that much money to throw away. Just my opinion. but what do I know i'm just a middle class reefer.
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  #20  
Old 10-05-2010, 05:25 AM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skimmer King View Post
That is great and all but 3500 for a light to light your tank is crazy. However if my light would do that then that is great would love it , they would probably sell more units if they wold lower the price, they want all the great advertising then lower the price and then you will get more people buying to rave about it. this light is geared toward the higher rich bank accounts and well if you can buy a 3700 light then you aren't really giving to craps about your tank. or have that much money to throw away. Just my opinion. but what do I know i'm just a middle class reefer.
I disagree. During my time as a retailer, I found the same spectra of zeal and passion to be true amongst all the financial stratas.

Regarding the price - despite what some of us would insist - this thing cost an arm and a leg, no, many arms and many legs to develop. Not only that, the manufacturing and assembly are state of the art. Even the components are top notch (no expense has been spared, as in there are NO CHEAP/SHORTCUT COMPONENTS, NOT EVEN A SINGLE TRANSISTOR HAS BEEN BOUGHT AT BARGAIN) and highly regarded within industry. The thing is built to last and the intention is and has always been "buy with the confidence that you will NEVER worry about it ever again".

EDIT:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...0&postcount=12

YOU, good sir, are HARDLY a middle-class reefer, lol.
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Last edited by albert_dao; 10-05-2010 at 05:28 AM.
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